The Things That Hold You Down
by AnimatedC9000
Summary: A mouse aspires to more than he ever thought possible. Meanwhile in Storybrooke, two neighbors go though hardships together. Takes place from Ep. 1.05-onward, Storybrooke-wise


Run. Hide. Dodge. Wait.

It was all an animal – man or beast – knew if it wanted to survive. A basic instinct that proved to be useful almost every chance a situation, especially a dangerous one, arose. Survive for as long as you could, or you'll be eliminated and walked all over. It was the way things had always been.

And yet...

There were such things as a higher purpose in life. Something out there kept calling to him, enticing him to go forth and answer it. It was a call to adventure, a call to greatness. But every time he had appeared to answer that call...

"Mouse!" a shrill shriek came from within the chambers of the castle.

Following the scream came the scampering of paws against stone floor. Brown fur ran like mad, two items between his arm and teeth. One was a small bit of cheese: his dinner, if he could survive. The other was a small piece of red fabric.

The mouse knew he had no time to stop to catch his breath. He knew he had to outrun the chambermaid, who no doubt was still in hot pursuit with her broom. "Filthy vermin!" Whack! The air given off from the broom's hit to the floor sped the rodent onward. "Miserable beast!" Whack! "Teach you to steal from this house, I will!"

With quick thinking, the mouse started to climb the tapestries until he was at the ledge of an open window. The chambermaid followed, swinging her broom every chance she had at the creature. When she saw the rodent on the ledge, she raised her broom for one more swing. The mouse knew he had to do something.

WHACK!

So he jumped.

The disgruntled woman "hmmph!"d and went back to her duties, a "Good riddance" muttered under her breath.

The mouse, however, kept falling. At first, he regretted ever jumping out the window. But he knew that it had to be done. His beady eyes closing, the mouse clung to his spoils and braced himself for impact on the ground...

And then he felt something he hadn't before. He felt... free, like he was flying through the sky without a care. The mouse spread his arms out, almost mimicking the wings of a bird. It felt so breathtaking and emotional. Oh, he wouldn't mind falling forever if it meant experiencing this again.

The crash into soft hay on a cart jolted him back to reality. He gasped as he opened his eyes, and again when the piece of cheese landed on his head. Gathering his breath and belongings, the mouse surveyed his saving grace and back up to the castle window. He burrowed into the hay when a few humans passed by and stayed in there. It wasn't until a horse whinnied and the cart started to move that the mouse poked his head out. He was... going away from the place that had been a prison to him. But he didn't know whether to be thankful or not for that.

Nuzzling back into the hay, Timothy tied the red fabric around himself like a scarf and started to eat the cheese. Soon afterward, the mouse found himself nodding off. He knew he had to have strength if he was going to be ready for anything.

* * *

He was late. He was _so_ late.

That was all Fred Mausworth could think from the moment he had bolted from his bed, starting in a fury of getting himself ready for the day. Get dressed, get his teeth brushed, try not to fall over the sofa while attempting to reach for the brush, feed Thumper his carrots and rabbit food, grab something to eat on the way to the club, try not to run into any walls. Who cared at this point that the earth had moved the previous night and the old mine shafts had opened back up? Nothing stopped a scheduled practice at Club Robin, even if the co-owner overslept!

With a pastry in his mouth, Fred hurried to zip up his pants, put his second shoe on, mutter a good-bye to his faithful bunny friend, grab his hat, and dash out the door to his apartment. All the man was focused on was getting to the club, opening it, and getting things started with Cliff and the band. That was all that mattered at the moment to him.

In fact, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that he was about to collide with his neighbor until after the incident.

"Woah, Archie!" Fred spoke out as he stumbled back from the man. "What was- I am sorry about that!" He then bent over to pick up his hat and keys.

"It's okay," Archie responded, bending over to pick up his umbrella and suitcase.

They ended up grabbing the opposite things. "Uh, here you go, Arch." "Oh, thanks..."

It wasn't until then that Fred got a good look at the redhead's expression. Archie appeared to be tired, the bottom of his eyes puffy. The brunette furrowed his brow in concern. "You okay?" he asked. "Pongo not feeling up to walking today?"

There was a pause before Archie spoke again, his voice sounding worn out. "I-I, yes, I'm fine. Pon-Pongo's staying in for now, I already walked him earlier."

"You sure?" Fred looked at him with worried eyes. "'Cuz I could go to the office right now and tell them that you're taking the day-"

"No!" the other man interjected before realizing his slight outburst. "No, I... I have patients to see, Fred. I'll be fine..." Fred said nothing, continuing to look at Archie in concern. It figured to be as good a time as any to break off the conversation. "See ya after work, maybe," Archie finally said, leaving for his office with the same sullen look on his face.

"Work, right!" Fred smacked himself in the head, remembering why he was in such a hurry to begin with. "The club!" He took off like a bullet towards Club Robin, no doubt ready to face people waiting at the front door who were waiting to get in, namely the band.


End file.
